Excuse me Nils, please let us in. Toots, can you let us in?
This is his favorite game right now. He closes the door, and waits for you to open it so he can close it again. Very funny.
Yes yes, you are so clever.
There's not too much to the tour, since it's a pretty small space.We've got light gray walls and your typical baby furnishings. If I can, I'd like to direct your attention to the quilt on the rocking chair, window treatment, and crib bumpers. Nils has quite the grandma; she made all these things for him.
One other touch that I love: the grouping of pictures on the wall:
They're illustrations from The Runaway Bunny. I bought a used paperback and ripped out a couple pages; one represents Oliver and the other is me. I'll let you guess which of us is the Alpine mountain climber in a Swiss/Bavarian-style hat.
Simple but sweet, no? Nils has a lot of fun in here (as long as no one is trying to make him sleep). And look! I do believe he's about to start in on his second favorite game - taking his toys and throwing them on the floor. Cleanup? Someone else takes care of that.
To me though, there is another side to this room. Let's look at that last picture one more time:
I'm pretty proud of myself for this. I have always been a secondhand furnisher, and for Nils I did my best to re purpose our own things or find new ones through secondhand channels. His things were inexpensive, and they are both unique and easy on the earth. We have even found some secondhand books and toys (mixed among their new counterparts) - a small feat given the fact that we don't live anywhere near family or friends with older children.
4 comments:
Aww. It looks so cozy and bright in there!
I love this boy! And the room is awesome! To me, secondhand actually goes hand-in-hand with..."home". Hear me out. I grew up in a house that never had ALL new things. My Mom was thrifty. My Mom was crafty. A lot of our blankets, dolls, etc. were homemade. A lot of our furniture was handed down to us by someone else.
Fast forward to living on my own and entering my 20s. Poor as dirt and piecing together furniture and house items. So many things were pulled out of basements, attics, Goodwills, Salvation Armys...you name it. CURBS even! And that was (and still is) my house.
You know what? Every person who comes over to visit tells me that my house is so "homie", or that they just feel so "at home". Why? Well, I've come to discover that it is because things are not perfect. Things are loved, items are used...and "life" happens.
I think secondhand makes a house a home, instead of a museum.
Nils room is perfect! :)
Heidi, I'm right there with you! I love secondhand stuff, and if I were filthy rich I'd probably just get really nice secondhand stuff (antiques). I love the little flaws too... they make things more interesting and personal.
And uh, can we make next year's get together happen at your place? I'd love to see it.
Absolutely!
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